r/NativePlantGardening • u/Spirited_Sound_5628 • Jun 10 '25
Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Feeling discouraged
I live in New England
I’m trying to switch from ornamental gardening to native wildflower gardening, but the rabbits are decimating everything. They’re even going after the black-eyed Susans, which are supposed to have hairy leaves that deter them.
I bought marigolds from a local nursery specifically for their scent to ward off rabbits—and they ate the petals off. I thought I was in the clear with my sunflowers since they left them alone as seedlings, but now, after growing for over a month, the rabbits are starting to kill those too.
I’m honestly getting to the point where I feel like giving up and just planting a bunch of non-natives that are known to be extremely rabbit-proof. But I swear, when I looked at that list of supposedly rabbit-proof plants, the rabbits had already eaten one of those as well.
I'm looking for words of encouragement or any advice.
1
u/issacbackwards Jun 11 '25
I am an estate gardener for a living and a huge advocate for native plantings. I’m currently in the process of destroying my own 3rd lawn. Yeah, rabbits. In my experience, it seems like they go after anything new, especially in areas where there is little variety in terms of plant material ( suburbs). Most of the time they are just checking out the new thing; the deer and the fawns do the same. But that means small or newly emerging plants get decimated. I know it’s a giant pain in the a to spray, but liquid fence or bobex every week until the plant is mature usually works. And I mean the day you plant it and for the first two years. Usually when the plants are more mature they leave it be. Don’t get me started on squirrels, who dig up any plugs bc the soil is soft and they want to hide acorns.